1. I turned 29!! : It’s so crazy to me that this will be the last year of my 20’s. SO CRAZY. Like did I just graduate high school or at least COLLEGE? Noooope apparently NOT. In honor of turning 29, I created a 30 things before I turn 30 list to do in the next year and it’s going to be FUUUUUN.

2. Related to my birthday, I created a 30 things before I turn 30 list to have a little fun and stop stressing about the fact this is the last year of my 20’s — As Will put it, “well, it’s so you? Random. A little weird. Kind of hilarious.”

3. I spent a lot of time outside: The weather has been pretty nice which makes me happy because October is always a mixed bag weatherwise. Been taking advantage of the nice weather to take walks and do outside things.

4. Did LOTS of FALL THINGS – went pumpkin picking, apple picking, played in the leaves, carved pumpkins, made chocolate chip pumpkin spice cookies, have made some chilis and other hearty crockpot meals.

5. I went clothing shopping for the first time in a while: I came to the realization, upon organizing my closet, that all I own are dresses and tank tops. My go-to for winter clothes has just been to put a cardigan over a tank top and BOOM WINTERIZED. So I got some birthday money/gift cards and decided to get myself some warmer clothes. I HATE the cold weather and this year I’ve been trying to embrace it and find ways to hate it less. So I got myself some warm sweaters and such and my life already feels better.

I put all my Monthly Rewinds in a Spotify playlist so you can listen to them here now ! I also have my October playlist where you can find other stuff I was listening to this month.

1. High Fever – The Bronze Medal

2. Light It Up — Eliza & The Bear

3. 10,000 Emerald Pools — BORNS

4. James Dean — Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

5. Boardwalks — Little May

6. This Is How We Walk On The Moon – Jose Gonzalez
(I fell in love with him years ago in college and I’m digging this new song)

“Other people will try to decide things for you, she says. They’ll try to tell you who you are. Remember, no matter what they say, you’re the only who really decides.” — Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

2. If We Were Having Coffee— It makes me happy that I’m able to sit down and talk with you guys about what’s on my mind and in my heart. I am humbled by your responses and all the emails I got privately in response.

2. Have You Changed Your Narrative Lately?: “It’s easy to cling to a story, even if it doesn’t serve us anymore. It’s harder to shed the layers of past selves and emerge into a new narrative. The transition can be awkward, abrupt, or bumpy.” This post REALLY resonated with me right now.

1. Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Ice Cream — NO SERIOUSLY. This ice cream is the stuff dreams are made of if you are a pumpkin fanatic. Get thyself to a Trader Joe’s.

2. Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar: Can you tell I’m all about dessert in my life yet? But seriously, I was riding the PMS waves and Will is a good husband and picked this up for me so I my PMS rage could be calmed. SO DELISH.

3. How To Get Away With Murder: I’m a huge Shonda Rhimes fan (holla Greys & Scandal) and I didn’t mean to start watching this but I did. The first episode was the very end of September and in October I became full on obsessed.

1. ALL THE BOOK EVENTS: In November we have Ally Condie, Robin Lafevers, Claire Legrand, Sarah Fine and Sarah Raasch coming to my area! ALSO MOCKINGJAY OMG!

2. Thanksgiving: Getting my Thanksgiving pants out in preparation!

3. Christmas shopping: I actually hate the ACT of Christmas shopping because I basically want to drop kick someone every time I go to the mall near Christmas but I really like Christmas shopping for my family and it’s fun to go out with Will and grab lunch and hot chocolates and just pick out things for our loved ones.

(I have been feeling like my Monthly Rewinds are so less interactive than I want them to be so I did some brainstorming and I thought it would be fun to ask you a question based on something that happened to me this month, something I was thinking about, etc.)

So I read this quote recently and it got me thinking a lot about areas in my life that I want to push my boundaries a little more — especially in relation to some of my 30 before 30 list items and just getting ready to leave my 20’s in general: “Your current safe boundaries were once unknown frontiers.”

So my question is: What’s an area in your life where you want to push yourself more or where is there an unknown frontier in your life that you’ve been scared to pursue?

Pick a category (or 5… or all of them) and tell me what went on in YOUR life this month!! What sort of things were noteworthy for you this month? New obsessions? Any new song recs?? Best books you read this month? Great posts I missed on your blog? Answer to my question of the month?

Jamie is a 30 year old married lady who is in denial that she's actually that old. When she's not reading you can find her doing Pilates followed by eating ice cream, listening to music with oversized headphones and having adventures with her husband and dog.

Comments

So jealous you got to read The Winner’s Crime, I’m so excited for that! I think the one area I want to work in/push myself more is probably writing, so that’s why I’m doing NaNoWriMo this month! Other than that, I think my favourite read this month was “Bad Kitty” by Michele Jaffe. It was hilarious and engrossing!

I hate cold weather too 🙁 and I seriously dislike most winter clothes, so this time of the year is always a horror for me. I really like the idea of making a list with 30 things you want to do before you turn 30. I hope you get to do all of them! I see The winner’s crime there, oehh, I can’t wait to read it. That chocolate truffle bar sounds delicious.

What’s an area in your life where you want to push yourself more or where is there an unknown frontier in your life that you’ve been scared to pursue?
– That is a very interesting question. I think my scariest step is going to find a place with my boyfriend next year (it’s also really exciting :D). I hope to get my diploma somewhere in July and then we want to go hunt for a place after I find a job. WHICH IS ALSO REALLY SCARY. How is it possible I’m almost going to live a complete adult live? Where did school go?

YES that’s part of my problem is I always felt like winter clothes were frumpy. I did find some cute sweaters that didn’t make me look TOOO bulky but UGH I’m definitely dying to buy dresses instead haha

Oooh yes that definitely is a new, big frontier! It’s crazy how life just flies by and suddenly you are like omg I’m a bonafide adult. I don’t feel like I am at 29 and Will and I have been on our own for a couple years now. It kind of just HAPPENS and you make mistakes and there are definite growing pains but somehow the transition isn’t too bad..at least it wasn’t for us!

Thank you! And gahh yea it’s like this whole existential crisis. I was talking about it with a friend last night and we were just like…our 20’s are what we KNOW as adulthood and there are so many growing pains and HUGE changes that shape who we are by the time we are almost at our 20’s. I mean, my life from age 20 to now is SO SO SO different as an adult.

I’m not sure if I’ll post my list but I keep having people ask me so maaaaybe. Some of it is embarrassing and way too personal so I’ll have to leave those off haha

I turned 29 in April and have been really anxious about the big 3-0 for awhile. My biggest challenge for myself has always been my health. I’ve realized recently that it’s only going to get harder not easier from this point on and making eating healthy, working out and yes, dropping a few pounds needs to be higher up on the priority list. Also, when I think about turning 30 it kind of makes me sad because I am the youngest in my family and I feel like I’m no longer the young one. I feel like I’m getting older and my childhood is behind me. It’s bittersweet and quite nostalgic.

Staying healthy is SO hard. Will and I started eating really healthy when we got married and I haven’t looked back. It’s hard at first and you can’t be too tough on yourself but now when I eat bad I can tell my body hates it. I mean, don’t get me wrong. We still enjoy sweets and not so healthy things on occasion but the majority of our food is healthy. I am happy to give you some of the food blogs we love that are healthy! I think, for me, it was easy to each week challenge myself — like okay I’m going to replace ONE snack with a healthy snack (veggies or fruit or something) and it just made it easier to start slow with incorporating healthier foods and slowly it just becomes your lifestyle and you don’t really think about it much. I just tried doing BETTER than I did before rather than being like, “OKAY I AM NOW GOING TO EAT HEALTHY.”

And working out is SO HARD. I struggle with the motivation. I don’t know if you have ever heard of Blogilates but I started with her beginner’s calendar and it’s the only workout I’ve stuck with. Once you feel comfortable you can move to her regular calendar’s and tweak it how you need. Sometimes I add more cardio and take off a video or two or something I just do what she has on there. It’s great to have someone lay it out there for you and the community is very supportive!

And I feel you…almost being thirty has shaken me up. I just long for some of those younger days even though I love my life now!

Yes, please find your mojo again. I love your videos. I put the audiobook of Station Eleven on hold at the library. How To Get Away With Murder is the BEST. I think it’s the only show I’m caught up with. My favorite book this month, it’s a tie: The Kiss Of Deception and Succubus On Top (Richellle Mead’s Georgina Kincaid series, not sure why I didn’t read this series when it was released 5 years ago but loving it). Favorite album: Hozier, seriously good!

Aw thank you for the kind words! REALLY going to try this week to film at least one! AND OMG HOZIER HAS BEEN ON REPEAT HERE FOR ME!! The whole album is perfection!! And I’ll be curious to what yout hink of Station Eleven — and how it is on audio!

I loved your DNF post this month! And my sister in law has been telling me to read Miss Peregrine’s…and I also keep hearing great things about Station Eleven and might give it a shot even though I’m not typically a fan of dystopia.

Oh gosh, I feel you in the whole realizing that all that I own are dresses and tank tops. I don’t like sweaters though?? D:

Oh man, that’s why I Christmas shop throughout the year haha. I try my best to not do ANY Christmas present shopping past the very beginning of November. All the prices get jacked up real high and everybody is cranky and it’s just so busy haha.

“What’s an area in your life where you want to push yourself more or where is there an unknown frontier in your life that you’ve been scared to pursue?”: I struggle/deal with anxiety and OCD every single day of my life (the OCD being a germaphobe). And I’d like to try to get a bit better :/ It’s very restricting!
I’ve also been terrified to go to college (I’m almost 22 1/2.. will be on Christmas [it’s my half birthday]). I know what I want to do for a job, but I don’t know what to study and there’s the fact that I don’t want to live in a city, but I have to to do the job I want to do. And the whole being terrified to go to college thing is about money and the fact that I get homesick really easily! And that I’m also not a huge social person, at all.

New obsession is definitely the tv show Scorpion. It’s so good, omg.
Song recs: “Style”, “Blank Space”, “I Know Places”, and “Bad Blood” off of Tswift’s new album!! They’re my favorites, besides “Shake It Off”.
I slacked on my reading this past month and I’m not done reading this book yet, but I’m obsessed with it. All of you book bloggers have been rec’ing it so much. “Throne of Glass” by: Sarah J Maas! I LOVE Chaol. I’ve also already fancasted Chaol and Celaena haha.

The frontier I’m definitely afraid to pursue is kids. It’s a daily emotional gut punch to feel so unprepared about something I’ve wanted for most of my life. I have so many worries and a lot of them are related to my own mom and wishing she were still here so I would have someone to ask about these feelings. If this weren’t stressful enough, I’m watching several of my best friends start families and group off as moms so I’m also feeling like I’m losing friendships. And most of the time it feels like my childless friends are competing with me over who will have kids first. I feel like I’m in a race that I don’t want to be running, and yet the end goal is something I very much want but am scared of. SUCH a scary frontier! Like, wth, feelings, get yourself together!

Oh, whoops, you totally didn’t deserve to have all that mess dumped on you!

I really do like that quote though. I can definitely see other areas of my life that now are my comfort zone but used to be the thing I was afraid of.

Will you share any of your 30 before 30 goals? I do birthday goals every year and have run out of ideas!

YASSS I feel like everyone I know is taking that KID step and I’m not there. It’s so hard. It was the same with the marriage thing too. Everyone racing to get married and I felt left behind because we waited a little longer.

I MIGHT share my goals. I haven’t decided but I’ve had quite a few people ask me!

I didn’t get a whole lot of reading done this month, but my favorite of what I did read was Paper Love: Searching for the Girl My Grandfather Left Behind by Sarah Wildman – has to do with WWII but has these beautiful letters in it written by the girl he left behind that make the book worth a read even if you’re not a fan of history stuff.
I really liked that Jose Gonzalez song! Hadn’t heard that one, but now I’m listening to him while I write this comment. 🙂 All of my top songs for this month just happened when Taylor Swift’s 1989 came out – I’ve been listening to that NONSTOP (almost nonstop, anyway).
As for the big question.. I feel like everything I’m doing is an unknown frontier.. My whole life right now is that frontier, and some of it I push myself to do, and some of it I just can’t. It’s quite an interesting time. I just read over that and it is really vague and weird. There’s an easy explanation – I’m in the beginning of my Peace Corps service, so literally everything is strange and new and occasionally uncomfortable.. I guess the big push was getting here! Ha.
I second another comment about hoping that you share some of your 30 list! I love seeing people’s lists like that. 🙂

My October has been so lame and uneventful. Ha I tried to think of my favorite reads from October, but it turns out I only read a book (yes, one book!) and listened to one audiobook. That is absolutely ridiculous since in August I read at least 5. I’m definitely still in my something. I loved the books I finished in October (The One by Keira Cass..audiobook… Crown of Midnight). Now I am trying to get myself to finish Heir of Fire. This sounds ridiculous because I love it so far, but it is taking FOREVER for me to really buckle down and read it. I’m so easily distracted. But I’ll finish it. I’m sure I will. For music this month I have been LOVING The Mighty Oaks, Noah Gundersen, Ben Howard, and Hope Country (they are a local band from the area of Minnesota that I am from, but I am loving their music). I have been debating getting into How to Get Away With Murder because I love Scandal (though I definitely need to catch up on it). Hmmm maybe.

I like this question of the month thing. Very cool. An area that I want to push myself more is just by living here in general and opening myself up to more that is going on around me. I have lived here since March and have just been not having it, at all. I want to try to really give it a chance. I need to remember that even if I make friends and like it here I still don’t have to live here for forever. I just have been so homesick and with the holidays coming up and my husband being gone I have just been lonely. I have been trying to start going to a church and am looking to add zumba classes to my week but I need to do a little more. I need to actually live and enjoy myself, and I am not right now. I need to turn it around. This is the area I hope to push myself in, if that makes sense. Or maybe I should try to blog more too. I enjoy doing it, but I am so bad at it. So bad. I can’t decide what exactly I want besides for it to be fun for me. Oh well. I’ll try my best to go for it.

We all have those months! I’m having one already here in November. SIGH. HoF took me a little bit to read too! It’s BIG and I’m easily distracted too 😛

Going to check out Hope Country! Love all the others you listed!

Moving is SUCH an unknown frontier. I think you are taking the right steps with church and zumba class! That’s brave! It’s scary to do new things and go places where you don’t know people. What about a book club??

I have been searching and searching for a book club, but all I can seem to find is ones that meet at the library that are full of women who are very far into retirement and read books I am not exactly a fan of at this point in my life. Gotta keep going, because I think a book club would be SO fun. Never been a part of one before.

Happy 29! I’m half way through this year and it’s a fun one. I made a 30 before 30 list a couple years ago and lost it, but I honestly don’t think I’ve made half the list. Hope you’re more successful with yours. Great question of the month! I am pushing myself to consistently write more, it helps me deal with life but is something I’ve never been very disciplined with. Hopefully this is the turning of the leaf that sticks.

I’m going to have to try the dark chocolate truffle bar. I’ve strictly been a milk chocolate girl, but I’m trying to reduce my sugar intake. This seems like a good balance.
I’m completely in love with the narrative post you suggested. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it!

I *may* share my list. I haven’t decided!! And I LOVE your friend’s motto. It’s honestly kind of true. I need to invest in a warm jacket even if it isn’t AS cute is my other one. And now that I’ve been wearing actual warm sweaters..it does help.

Even though I’ve been pursuing it doggedly, I still think I have leaps and bounds to go when it comes to writing. I’ve realized, these past two weeks I’ve been doing NaNo, that I do love it, that it is fun, but I never realized how much time, effort, energy (in other words WORK) goes into it. I definitely want to push my boundaries much, much more and write, write, write! Plus, there’s also the fact that I intend to travel loads in 2015 – if the budget can handle it.

Also, October was lovely, wasn’t it? The weather was pretty great, and not too cold, which I’m very happy about. I hope November is more of the same!

I love your monthly rewinds for various reasons, but I especially love discovering new music from you – sometimes I love it, sometimes I don’t, but it’s great that you share. 🙂

And YES, I do find myself being scared to push or discover new boundaries and frontiers. I think I may take a page out of your book and make a before/after *insert age* list. I’m 33, so I’d have to decide on a number… maybe an arbitrary 38. lol BUT, I did do something recently that is 350% out of my norm or anything I’ve done before – I’ve signed up to do a Spartan Race (I don’t know if you’ve heard of those, but it’s more of a challenge than a “race”). I’m not one to even exercise, so this is going to be very interesting. 🙂 I think I’m going to print off this quote to keep me inspired.